As requested, JADED HEART 2002’s album ”The Journey Will Never End”, a melodic hard rock bombshell from star to finish. Fronted by Michael Bormann’s commanding voice, driven by Barish Kepic’s slick guitar work, and rich in harmony vocals, JADED HEART was one of the bands responsible of the genre’s resurgence.
JADED HEART never released a bad album – all are really good – and while perhaps ”The Journey Will Never End” isn’t the one cointaining their strongest songwriting, it is their best produced for sure. Tommy Newton, the producer / engineer of the moment in early 2000’s (Helloween, Victory, Crystal Ball) provided the necessary edge to these melodic songs: the guitars are crunch yet still melodic, the hooks sink in instantly, choruses all have that over-the-top European flavor, and the backing vocals / harmonies are pumped up to the max in a massive multi-track mix.
Jaded Heart’s sound can best be described as a more intense Bon Jovi without the sappiness. They craft very intricate and moving rocking songs and also have a flair for writing emotional ballads that aren’t cheesy or lame. ”The Journey Will Never End” has taken all these elements from past Jaded Heart albums and has injected them with a revitalized energy that breathes a whole new life into the band, the hard rockers bite and the ballads are taken to a new level in terms of lyrical comparison and emotion.
Jaded Heart always has been one or two steps away from the recognition and notoriety that they deserve. They stuck it out though and kept releasing quality melodic hard rock music, at least during the Bormann era (he left the band in 2004).
With its retro-movie cover art, “‘The Journey Will Never End” is among Jaded Heart best albums, and easily among the best melodic hard releases of 2000’s.
Highly Recommended
Tracklist:
1.Intro (Instrumental)
2.Kid Is Going Down
3.The Journey Will Never End
4.On the Rise
5.We’ll Drag You Down
6.Only Human
7.Lucky Son
8.I’ll Be There
9.Larger than Life
10.Dangerous Destiny
11.These Are the Good Times
12.Sunshine Memories(Dedicated to the memory of S.& Y.Kepic)
13.Sign of the Times
Line-Up:
Michael Bormann – vocals
Barish Kepic – guitars
Michael Mueller – bass guitar
Axel Kruse – drums
Henning Wanner – keyboards
Tommy Newton – backing vocals (Track 5)